The Republic: NC Supreme Court rules that state officials acted properly in setting new execution rules

The North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that state officials acted properly when approving new capital punishment guidelines four years ago.

In a ruling published Friday, the court found that the Council of State did nothing wrong in 2007 when it signed off on a new protocol for lethal injection developed by the Department of Correction.

Lawyers for five death row inmates had argued the council, which consists of statewide elected officeholders, violated a law regulating the way state agencies approve policies.

David Weiss of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation says the court’s ruling is unlikely to mean that executions will immediately resume in North Carolina. Weiss says other court challenges to capital punishment are pending.